Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

I know, another movie but somehow a lot of movie titles apply to gardening. The good is that we had rain up to eight inches in twelve hours. We really needed rain because of the prolonged heat and dryness. The bad is that the rain was torrential, many streets flooded, whole communities were shut down as were parts of the expressway, power outages and flooded basements. The ugly is what many of us have left in our gardens, irretrievable plants that I will have to cut down, whipped grasses and fallen tomato plants.

These Beckys did not look too bad but when I went to prop them up many of the stems were broken.

Becky in the front was a little further along so I was almost ready to cut back even before the storm.

I still have some pretty blooms left that have survived but most everything looks a little beat up. Guess what, the Japanese beetles survived still chomping away on my rose buses, dahlias and numerous other goodies

This cucumber trellis from Gardener's Supply is working!

The Dura Cage could not hold up to the weight of the Beefsteak tomato. Because it is made of plastic, the legs broke under the weight. It is a great design, but the material is not suitable to hold up the large tomatoes. I will contact the company and let them know they have a good idea with the wrong material.

The flowers are lovely but they got hit hard also. I just can't cut them yet.

Pink Knockout

I will have my work cut out for me the beginning of the week, mostly cutting down the Becky Shastas (they were so big they just could not withstand the downpours). I am really wrapping my mind around fall right now, bought some fake pumpkins at the craft store to ready them for container decorations. I cannot use real pumpkins because the squirrels instantly eat them. If you spray the fake ones with marine varnish, they hold up very well outside. Don't worry, I am not putting them out in July or even August!

Oh, how I can relate to your post. We have had more rain than sunshine this entire summer. It seems we swing from one extreme to the other, doesn't it? At least today we had 24 hours without a drop of rain which was SO wonderful! I'm glad you didn't have any severe damage.

Abbie, my coneflowers seemed to weather the storm. I know what you mean about having some pots ready. I don't like seeing the gaps. Maybe I will start some ornamental cabbage next year and then it will last until December.

Hi Eileen, So sorry about all the damage from the rain but glad you got it to wet everything down a bit. Isn't that just like the pests to survive a storm so they can continue eating away at your prize flowers? I just love the foliage on your varigated Heliopsis - that is so pretty!

I know Marnie, we are lucky we did not get water in the basement. I was just praying our pumps did not go out That heliopsis is very striking and blooms all season, about 24 - 30" high. I am sorry I can't remember the exact name.

I use those fake pumkins in my containers too. You are way ahead of me in thinking of fall. I notice subtle shifts in the weather- it is colder in the mornings now- but I am trying not to think of fall just yet.

We have had such a hot summer, I can only think it will get cooler. I went looking for the fake pumpkins last year in August and they had very little left to pick from. My neighboored begins decorating for fall when the children go back to school!